DOCSLIB.ORG

The Israeli Folksong (Song of the Land-Of-Israel) Dr. Talilah Eliram Translated from Hebrew by Eliahu Adelman at the Present

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Israeli Folksong (Song of the Land-Of-Israel) Dr. Talilah Eliram Translated from Hebrew by Eliahu Adelman at the Present The Israeli Folksong (Song of the Land-of-Israel) Dr. Talilah Eliram Translated from Hebrew by Eliahu Adelman At the present day, the genre of Israeli Folksongs stands out as a unique genre within the corpus of popular Israeli music. The Name of the Genre At the beginning of a discussion about any genre, one must first attribute it with a name. However, in the case of the genre that we are dealing with, its name is still not agreed upon. Different research papers on the genre have used different names for it; these include: 'Israeli Folksong' (Shirei Erets Yisrael), 'Hebrew Folk-Singing' (Zemer Ivri), and 'Folksongs' (Shir 'Amami) (Seroussi 1991). Hirshberg (1981) speaks in one place about 'The Hebrew Folksong' (Shir Ha'am Ha'ivri) while in another about 'Original Land-of-Israel Songs' (Shir Eretsyisraeli Mekori). Cohen and Katz, in one paragraph, reference three different terms: 'Israeli Folk-song' (Shir Amami Yisraeli), 'The Israeli Song' (Hashir Hayisraeli), and 'The Hebrew Song' (Hashir Ha'ivri) (Cohen & Katz 1977). Shmulei (1968), Ravina (1968), and Bayer (1968) use the term 'The Israeli Song' (Hashir Hayisraeli). Smoira-Cohen (Smoira-Cohen, 1968) speaks about 'The Israeli Folksong' (Shir Ha'am Hayisraeli). Ron (1993), in the same sentence, references both the 'Israeli Singing' (Zemer Yisraeli) and the 'Israeli Song' (Shir Yisraeli) while Almagor (1994) is of the opinion that the 'Hebrew Folksong is the same as 'Israeli Folksongs' (Shirei Erets Yisrael). Gil Aldema (composer of many songs that are considered to be Israeli Folksongs, has been the instructor of communal singing workshops for many years, is the editor and arranger of radio shows, and was awarded the Israel Prize in 2004) has been quoted on the topic of the origin of the name 'Israeli Folksongs', saying: "The term was coined when Naomi Shemer wrote the song Behiahazut Hanahal BeSinai, where she wrote, 'the Land-of-Israel, small and forgotten,' and this awakened nostalgia for those days, when we were a small nation. She was able to get in touch with the old Israel, and that’s when it started. Daliah Guttman made a radio show with Naomi Polani and released an album that she called 'Songs of Old Israel,' and it was from there that the term started appearing. " (from an interview conducted by the writer on 23.1.1994) 1 Characterization of the Genre Another issue that is as problematic as the name of the genre is the characterization and definition of it, that is to say, what are the Israeli Folksongs? If we were to ask professionals who work in the field, or amateur singers, it can be assumed that they would know what we are referring to, and would even give examples of songs that fit the definition. However, there is no clear or accepted definition of this genre. When interviewees try to define the genre, or when it is referenced to in professional literature and media articles, there are a few characteristics that repeat themselves, among them: a certain usage of language, the themes of the text (love for the land and its scenery), the use of plural language in these songs (especially the earlier ones), the fact that many of them are relatively old, the framework in which they are performed, their function, and their composers and performers. During the framework of the interviews conducted by the writer of this entry with composers, lyricists, broadcasters, and communal singing instructors, the interviewees were asked to attempt to give a definition to the Israeli Folksongs. All of them found it to be very difficult. In fact, none of them were able to give an immediate answer and had to have a long conversation about it. Their spontaneous replies (for example those of Moshe Vilensky interviewed on 25.1.1994, and those of Nurit Hirsh, interviewed on 20.2.1994, both of whom composed many songs that are considered Israeli Folksongs) were, to name a few: "that is a difficult question", and "the term is not clear." Gil Aldema said: "I do not know what Israeli Folksongs are, I am aware that such a term exists, but I am not very fond of it." Michal Semoira- Cohen (a musicologist who has researched and written about the genre) says that: "Today there is great embarrassment in regards to this term, I do not know what it 1 All of the quotes presented throughout this paper are from interviews conducted by the author, unless otherwise noted. The date of the interview will be presented next to the interviewees name only after its first appearance means and I do not know what to place in it." (20.1.1994) Naomi Shemer, a winner of the Israel Prize, and who is regarded as the composer of the genre, referred to the term and claimed that she "is not crazy about it." According to her, it is a fluid and unclear term that in every period signifies something else (3.3.1994). After a bit of indecisiveness, the interviewees tried to define the term Israeli Folksongs in extramusical terms that will be expanded upon below. Many of them connected between the definition of the genre and the performance of the songs within the framework of communal singing. Later, we will try to define the genre by a few different criteria. The Themes and Language as Central Factors in Defining the Genre Researchers and professionals in the field of culture and Israeli Song emphasize the importance of the themes and language of the songs. Shokeid writes that: "Despite the fact that even the most beautiful Israeli poems would not have survived without their heart-wrenching melodies, there is no doubt that the emotional impact of many Israeli Folksongs is caused by the impressive combination of words with music." (Shokeid 1993, 108). Ariel Hirshfeld, a researcher of literature and music, states on the Hateiva Hamezameret television show (September 1998), that: "When singing together, the importance of the words to the Israeli Song is not always felt. Sometimes one is awakened mid-song to realize that the connection between the lyrics and music is crucial. There are lyrics in some songs, like Shimri Nafshekh and Yatsanu At, that cannot be said without their melody and whose melody cannot be recalled without the lyrics. These words, with their unique Hebrew, their context to the culture and with life here in general, have entered into the music, and have suddenly achieved a new presence. Sometimes, all of their meaning is built through the music." Amitai Ne'eman is of the opinion that "with Israeli Folksongs, the strength lies in the lyrics." Effi Netzer says that "Israeli Folksongs are songs from twenty to fifty years ago, or later songs that survived. The reason for their survival is that they hold a truth, and that truth depends on the worth of the lyrics." Ronit Hirsh and Naomi Polani (the choreographer of the Israeli band HaTarnegolim, in an interview conducted on 21.3.1995) think that the words are what make the song 'Israeli', because it is when dealing with themes that are connected to the land that make the song Israeli. In Sarale Sharon's opinion (in a letter from June 1994): "The Israeli Folksongs are songs whose lyrics and music were written in the Land-of-Israel, especially the words, because they talk about things that are connected to this land." The songs' most common theme, according to everyone who deals with them, is the love of the land and its scenery, which creates a sense of belonging to the land. Gil Aldema states that: "expressions of love of the land are found in these songs: 'we love you homeland' or 'we follow you blindly'." According to Naomi Shemer, Israeli Folksongs are "anything that can be called 'songs of the place', 'songs of the land…'" In her opinion, the scale by which it is decided whether they are Israeli Folksongs or not, is whether they emit a sense of belonging, of what is 'ours' and what belongs to home. Eliahu HaCohen (in an interview) discusses "shepherd songs and songs of the earth, the songs of the land of the gazelle and the date, the railroad track, scenery, and people." Gabi Berlin (a communal singing instructor) discusses (in an interview conducted on 13.5.1992) songs that refer to Israeli scenery and the connection of the people to the state. Amitai Ne'eman says (in an interview, 8.2.1994): "They are Israeli Folksongs in a completely non-musical aspect, but rather, in an aspect of experiencing this land. These are songs that could not have been written anywhere else except in the Land-of-Israel. This is because they express the spirit and the atmosphere … these are songs that referred to life here, working, and the homeland. " Hanokh Hasson also speaks (interview, 3.3.1994) about belonging as an important criterion for defining the Israeli Folksongs and is of the opinion that "Israeli Folksongs are part of our being, songs that have a belonging, that portray a sense that 'this belongs to me'." Hasson quotes Eliahu Hacohen (who, in turn, quoted Naomi Shemer): "Any song whose words bring about the scent of the Land-of-Israel, becomes an Israeli song." He continues: "The scent of the land is a more correct feeling than musical analyses. The scent consists of things that connect you with a spiritual and physical association of something that makes you closer to the landscape and to nature. Throughout all of the stylistic changes that the Israeli Folksong has gone through, is going through, and will go through, one of the prominent characteristics that will always remain with it is its scent of the Land-of-Israel.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Popular Music and National Culture in Israel, by Motti Regev and Edwin Seroussi
    Review Popular Music and National Culture in Israel, by Motti Regev and Edwin Seroussi. Berkeley–Los Angeles–London: University of California Press, 2004. Paperback, 308 pp., ISBN 0 520 23654 8 The study of popular music in Israel is a relatively new field. Although it has a history of more than a century, since the beginning of the Zionist establishment in Israel in the late nineteenth century, the bulk of this genre was created after the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. The few studies of the popular music of Israel’s Jewish population that were carried out before the 1980s dealt mainly with the genre known as “Songs of the Land of Israel.”1 From the early ’80s until the beginning of the twenty-first century, the range of subjects covered by this research was expanded. “Songs of the Land of Israel” still played a central role,2 but other categories of Israeli popular music, such as “Oriental” or “Mediterranean” music,3 and Israeli rock,4 were also studied, as was the influence of foreign music on Israeli popular music.5 Another field of research developed in the early twenty-first century was the detailed analysis of the musical and linguistic characteristics of composers and poets whose work was set to music. This music, too, belongs to the category of “Songs of the Land of Israel.”6 The book reviewed here differs from previous studies in that it provides a broad, overall view of popular music in Israeli society. It is the first attempt to survey Israel’s popular music as a complete field of research.
    [Show full text]
  • When Mizrahi Artists Said ‘No’ to Israel’S Pioneer Culture
    Riches To Rags To Virtual Riches: When Mizrahi Artists Said ‘No’ To Israel’s Pioneer Culture Shoshana Gabay. Ills. Joseph Sassoon Semah Upon their arrival in Israel, Mizrahi Jews found themselves under a regime that demanded obedience, even in cultural matters. All were required to conform to an idealized pioneer figure who sang classical, militaristic ‘Hebrew’ songs. That is, before the ‘Kasetot’ era propelled Mizrahi artists into the spotlight, paving the way for today’s musical stars. Part two of a musical journey beginning in Israel’s Mizrahi neighborhoods of the 1950s and leading up to Palestinian singer Mohammed Assaf. Read part one here. Our early encounter with Zionist music takes place in kindergarten, then later in schools and the youth movements, usually with an accordionist in tow playing songs worn and weathered by the dry desert winds. Music teachers at school never bothered with classical music, neither Western nor Arabian, and traditional Ashkenazi liturgies – let alone Sephardic – were not even taken into account. The early pioneer music was hard to stomach, and not only because it didn’t belong to our generation and wasn’t part of our heritage. More specifically, we were gagging on something shoved obsessively down our throat by political authority. Our “founding fathers” and their children never spared us any candid detail regarding the bodily reaction they experience when hearing the music brought here by our fathers, and the music we created here. But not much was said regarding the thoughts and feelings of Mizrahi immigrants (nor about their children who were born into it) who came here and heard what passed as Israeli music, nor about their children who were born into it.
    [Show full text]
  • Israel Resource Cards (Digital Use)
    WESTERN WALL ַה ּכֹו ֶתל ַה ַּמ ַעָר ִבי The Western Wall, known as the Kotel, is revered as the holiest site for the Jewish people. A part of the outer retaining wall of the Second Temple that was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE, it is the place closest to the ancient Holy of Holies, where only the Kohanim— —Jewish priests were allowed access. When Israel gained independence in 1948, Jordan controlled the Western Wall and all of the Old City of Jerusalem; the city was reunified in the 1967 Six-Day War. The Western Wall is considered an Orthodox synagogue by Israeli authorities, with separate prayer spaces for men and women. A mixed egalitarian prayer area operates along a nearby section of the Temple’s retaining wall, raising to the forefront contemporary ideas of religious expression—a prime example of how Israel navigates between past and present. SITES AND INSIGHTS theicenter.org SHUK ׁשוּק Every Israeli city has an open-air market, or shuk, where vendors sell everything from fresh fruits and vegetables to clothing, appliances, and souvenirs. There’s no other place that feels more authentically Israeli than a shuk on Friday afternoon, as seemingly everyone shops for Shabbat. Drawn by the freshness and variety of produce, Israelis and tourists alike flock to the shuk, turning it into a microcosm of the country. Shuks in smaller cities and towns operate just one day per week, while larger markets often play a key role in the city’s cultural life. At night, after the vendors go home, Machaneh Yehuda— —Jerusalem’s shuk, turns into the city’s nightlife hub.
    [Show full text]
  • Shabbat Program Shabbat Program
    SHABBAT PROGRAM SHABBAT PROGRAM May 10 and 11, 2019 / 6 Iyar 5779 Parashat Kedoshim Atsma’ut Shabbat ֽא־תִשׂ�נָא אֶת־אָחִי בִּלְבָבֶ ... ו�אָֽהַבְתָּ לְ�ֽעֲ כָּמוֹ אֲנִי ה': "You shall not hate your fellow human in your heart… Love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Eternal!" (Leviticus 19:17-18) 1 Welcome to CBST! ברוכים וברוכות הבאים לקהילת בית שמחת תורה! קהילת בית שמחת תורה מקיימת קשר רב שנים ועמוק עם ישראל, עם הבית הפתוח בירושלים לגאווה ולסובלנות ועם הקהילה הגאה בישראל. אנחנו מזמינים אתכם\ן לגלוּת יהדוּת ליבראלית גם בישראל! מצאו את המידע על קהילות רפורמיות המזמינות אתכם\ן לחגוג את סיפור החיים שלכן\ם בפלאיירים בכניסה. לפרטים נוספים ניתן לפנות לרב נועה סתת: [email protected] 2 MAY 10, 2019 / 6 IYAR 5779 ATSMA’UT SHABBAT- PARASHAT KEDOSHIM הֲכָנַת הַלֵּב OPENING PRAYERS AND MEDITATIONS *Od Yavo Shalom Aleinu Mosh Ben Ari (Born 1971) עוד יבוא שלום עלינו 101 (Peace will yet come to us and to everyone) L’chah Dodi Mordechai Zeira (1905-1968) לְכָה דוֹדִי Program Arr. Yehezkel Braun (1922-2014) *(Candle Blessings Abraham Wolf Binder (1895-1967 הַדְ לָקַת נֵרוֹת שׁ�ל שׁ�בָּת 38 *(Shalom Aleichem Israel Goldfarb (1879-1956 שׁ�לוֹם עֲלֵיכֶם 40 קַבָּלַת שׁ�בָּת KABBALAT SHABBAT / WELCOMING SHABBAT *L’chu N’ran’na Reuben Sirotkin (Born 1933) לְכוּ נְ�נְּנָה (תהלים צה) 52 (Psalm 95) (Yir’am Hayam (Psalm 98) Yoel Sykes (Born 1986 י��עַם הַיּ�ם (תהלים צו) 54 Nava Tehilah (Jerusalem)* *Mizmor L’David (Psalm 29) Yoel Sykes (Born 1986) מִזְמוֹר לְדָו�ד (תהלים כט) 62 *L'chah Dodi (Shlomo Alkabeitz) Kehilat Tsiyon (Jerusalem) לְכָה דוֹדִי 66 Kol Haneshama
    [Show full text]
  • The Audacity of Holiness Orthodox Jewish Women’S Theater עַ זּוּת שֶׁ Israelבִּ קְ Inדוּשָׁ ה
    ׁׁ ְִֶַָּּּהבשות שעזּ Reina Rutlinger-Reiner The Audacity of Holiness Orthodox Jewish Women’s Theater ַעזּּו ֶׁת ש in Israelִּבְקּדו ָׁשה Translated by Jeffrey M. Green Cover photography: Avigail Reiner Book design: Bethany Wolfe Published with the support of: Dr. Phyllis Hammer The Hadassah-Brandeis Institute, Waltham, Massachusetts, USA Talpiot Academic College, Holon, Israel 2014 Contents Introduction 7 Chapter One: The Uniqueness of the Phenomenon 12 The Complexity of Orthodox Jewish Society in Israel 16 Chapter Two: General Survey of the Theater Groups 21 Theater among ultra-Orthodox Women 22 Born-again1 Actresses and Directors in Ultra-Orthodox Society 26 Theater Groups of National-Religious Women 31 The Settlements: The Forge of Orthodox Women’s Theater 38 Orthodox Women’s Theater Groups in the Cities 73 Orthodox Men’s Theater 79 Summary: “Is there such a thing as Orthodox women’s theater?” 80 Chapter Three: “The Right Hand Draws in, the Left Hand Pushes Away”: The Involvement of Rabbis in the Theater 84 Is Innovation Desirable According to the Torah? 84 Judaism and the Theater–a Fertile Stage in the Culture War 87 The Goal: Creation of a Theater “of Our Own” 88 Differences of Opinion 91 Asking the Rabbi: The Women’s Demand for Rabbinical Involvement 94 “Engaged Theater” or “Emasculated Theater”? 96 Developments in the Relations Between the Rabbis and the Artists 98 1 I use this term, which is laden with Christian connotations, with some trepidation. Here it refers to a large and varied group of people who were not brought up as Orthodox Jews but adopted Orthodoxy, often with great intensity, later in life.
    [Show full text]
  • Table of Contents
    Table of Contents From the Editors 3 From the President 3 From the Executive Director 5 The Sound Issue “Overtures” Music, the “Jew” of Jewish Studies: Updated Readers’ Digest 6 Edwin Seroussi To Hear the World through Jewish Ears 9 Judah M. Cohen “The Sound of Music” The Birth and Demise of Vocal Communities 12 Ruth HaCohen Brass Bands, Jewish Youth, and the Sonorities of a Global Perspective 14 Maureen Jackson How to Get out of Here: Sounding Silence in the Jewish Cabaretesque 20 Philip V. Bohlman Listening Contrapuntally; or What Happened When I Went Bach to the Archives 22 Amy Lynn Wlodarski The Trouble with Jewish Musical Genres: The Orquesta Kef in the Americas 26 Lillian M. Wohl Singing a New Song 28 Joshua Jacobson “Sounds of a Nation” When Josef (Tal) Laughed; Notes on Musical (Mis)representations 34 Assaf Shelleg From “Ha-tikvah” to KISS; or, The Sounds of a Jewish Nation 36 Miryam Segal An Issue in Hebrew Poetic Rhythm: A Cognitive-Structuralist Approach 38 Reuven Tsur Words, Melodies, Hands, and Feet: Musical Sounds of a Kerala Jewish Women’s Dance 42 Barbara C. Johnson Sound and Imagined Border Transgressions in Israel-Palestine 44 Michael Figueroa The Siren’s Song: Sound, Conflict, and the Politics of Public Space in Tel Aviv 46 Abigail Wood “Surround Sound” Sensory History, Deep Listening, and Field Recording 50 Kim Haines-Eitzen Remembering Sound 52 Alanna E. Cooper Some Things I Heard at the Yeshiva 54 Jonathan Boyarin The Questionnaire What are ways that you find most useful to incorporate sound, images, or other nontextual media into your Jewish Studies classrooms? 56 Read AJS Perspectives Online at perspectives.ajsnet.org AJS Perspectives: The Magazine of President Please direct correspondence to: the Association for Jewish Studies Pamela Nadell Association for Jewish Studies From the Editors perspectives.ajsnet.org American University Center for Jewish History 15 West 16th Street Dear Colleagues, Vice President / Program New York, NY 10011 Editors Sounds surround us.
    [Show full text]
  • The Polyphony Foundation Brings Arab and Jewish Israeli Musicians Together with Classical Music
    Monday 08 August, 2016 Published On: Sun, May 31st, 2015 Israel & Middle East / Life & Style / Religion | By Reggie Reiner The Polyphony Foundation Brings Arab and Jewish Israeli Musicians Together With Classical Music "It’s really to give young people from both communities a chance to interact and to become more familiar with the other." - – There are so many different people and organizations today dedicated to building bridges between Jews and Arabs around the world. The Polyphony Foundation uses classical music to do so in Israel. The organization declares its goal to be to find common ground through a common sound. It states that it has created a place of harmony where young people, both Arab and Jew, come together around classical music. This harmony is achieved in Israel through various programs operated by Polyphony Education Israel as part of a multi- tiered programming structure designed to move the students from beginner to professional performer. As the students advance from program to program, they encounter increasingly mixed groups of Arabs and Jews, so as they learn to appreciate music, they also learn to appreciate each other. Through the common language of music, they learn to look beyond their differences to see the culture, connection and humanity they share. Currently, these programs reach more than 6,000 Arab and Jewish youth and provide training and employment for over 100 teachers, according to the organization. – – It was created in 2011 by New York residents Deborah and Craig Cogut and artistic director Nabeel Abboud-Ashkar. Abboud-Ashkar told Reuters, “It’s really to give young people from both communities a chance to interact and to become more familiar with the other.
    [Show full text]
  • Jewish Liturgical Music for Treble Choirs Prepared by Miriam Altman, July, 2014
    Jewish Liturgical Music for Treble Choirs Prepared by Miriam Altman, July, 2014 A couple notes on current Jewish liturgical music • Like the Christian liturgy, Jewish liturgical music often contains many, many settings of identical texts, varying in style over the years. Just like one can hear dozens of settings of “Gloria,” or “Kyrie eleison,” you will find a comparable amount of “Ose Shalom”s and “Mi Chamochah”s. In the past couple decades, the school music publishers have become aware of this and will sometimes have a prolific composer (e.g. John Leavitt) write a song using Jewish liturgical texts. These pieces are not performed in synagogues, nor would most Jews be familiar with them. (The same goes for almost anything published for Chanukah.) Songs in the list below are ones that would be recognizable to most American Jews, particularly in Reform and, to a lesser extent, Conservative congregations. Orthodox Jews probably would not be, keeping to much older or internally-known melodies. • Cantors and song leaders will improvise and arrange harmonies from melodic lead sheets, both for themselves (during congregational singing) and for small group or choral performances. You should feel absolutely welcome to do the same. “Traditional” arrangements, published in octavo form, are sometimes available, but they are utilized far less commonly than the practice of learning harmonies/arrangements by ear. This is not unlike the Black gospel choral tradition (and other folk traditions, of course). Use YouTube, iTunes, or connect with a cantor at a local synagogue for ideas. Professional Jewish cantors, by the way, are ordained clergy and complete years of schooling to receive their certification.
    [Show full text]
  • The Story of Israel at 66 Through the Songs of Arik Einstein
    1 The Soundtrack of Israel: The Story of Israel at 66 through the songs of Arik Einstein Israel turns sixty six this year and a so much has happened in this seemingly short lifetime. Every war, every peace treaty, every struggle, and every accomplishment has left its impact on the ever changing character of the Jewish State. But throughout all of these ups and downs, all of the conflicts and all of the progress, there has been one voice that has consistently spoken for the Jewish nation, one voice that has represented Israelis for all 66 years and will continue to represent a people far into the future. That is the voice of Arik Einstein. Einstein’s music, referred to by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as the “soundtrack of Israel,” transcended generations. Einstein often took the words of high-brow Israeli poets such as Chaim Nachman Bialik, Rahel, Nathan Alterman and Avraham Halfi and turned them into rock anthems sung by vibrant Israeli youth. Einstein captured the heart and soul of Israelis old and young. For every Zionist, peacenik, settler, hopeless romantic, nostalgia aficionado and child (or child at heart) in Israel, there is at least one Arik Einstein song that speaks to them. For every historic Israeli moment, there is an Arik Einstein song that represents the emotion of a united nation, or a shuttered people. Although fairly unknown outside of Israel, Arik Einstein was loved by all, and mourned by all after his sudden death in November of 2013, when tens of thousands of Israelis joined together to pay their respects to the iconic Sabra at a memorial service in Rabin Square in Tel Aviv.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Lahiton [email protected]
    Lahiton [email protected] 1 Lahiton magazine was founded in 1969 by two partners, Uri Aloni and David Paz, and was funded by an investment from Avraham Alon, a Ramlah nightclub owner and promoter. Uri Aloni was a pop culture writer and rabid music fan while David Paz, another popular music enthusiast, was an editor who knew his way around the technical side of print production. The name “Lahiton,” reportedly invented by entertainers Rivka Michaeli and Ehud Manor, combines the Hebrew words for hit, “lahit” and newspaper, “iton.” Lahiton [email protected] 2 Uri Aloni cites the British fan magazines Melody Maker and New Music Express as influences; (Eshed 2008) while living in London and writing for the pop music columns of Yediot Ahronot and La-Isha, he would lift editorial content and photos from the latest British pop magazines, write articles, then find an Israel-bound traveler at the London airport to transport the articles into the hands of his editors. In Lahiton’s early days, Aloni and Paz continued this practice (Edut 2014). Eventually, however Lahiton’s flavor became uniquely secular Israeli. Although in 1965 the Beatles were famously denied permission to perform in Israel (Singer 2015), by the time Lahiton got started in 1969 there was no stemming the tide; the international pop music scene had permeated Israel’s insular and conservative culture. At the time there were no other Hebrew publications that covered what was going on both at home and in America and Europe. Lahiton began as a bimonthly publication, but within the first year, when press runs of 5000 copies sold out on a regular basis, Paz and Aloni turned it into a weekly.
    [Show full text]
  • June July 2018 Bulletin
    A Congregation Affiliated with the Congregation B’nai Israel United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism 6525 Sylvania Avenue Sylvania OH 43560 151 Years of (419) 517-8400 Consecrated Service to www.cbitoledo.org God, Torah and Israel 5778 1 Notes from the Cantor ………………………………………. POWER OF MUSIC V The past month in Jewish history and in our calendar has been momentous. We experienced Israel’s 70th anniversary, celebrated in several excellent events in our community, the 51st anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem, and the relocation of the US Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. In the midst of all this euphoria, what might have escaped your attention is Israel’s winning the prestigious Eurovision song contest on May 12th 2018 in Lisbon, Portugal. That night in our Jewish calendar - the 28th of Iyar, commemorates the reunification of Jerusalem during the Six Day War of 1967. This is the fourth time Israel has won Eurovision, one of the world’s most famous international song contests. The winning song “Toy”, a pop anthem about female independence, was performed by 25 year old Netta Barzilai, accompanied by her signature “chicken dance.” Netta had placed third by the official judges, but won thanks to tele-voters from around the world catapulting her to victory. Hours before the victory, Israeli superstar film actress Gal Gadot had urged her twenty million Instagram followers to vote for Israel’s entry. Including words like “I’m not your toy you stupid boy...,” it was influenced by the #MeToo movement. The Eurovision contest has often been embroiled in political and religious controversies, although politically tinged songs are unofficially disallowed.
    [Show full text]
  • Fifty Years of Electronic Music in Israel
    See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/231788238 Fifty years of electronic music in Israel Article in Organised Sound · August 2005 DOI: 10.1017/S1355771805000798 CITATIONS READS 3 154 1 author: Robert J. Gluck University at Albany, The State University of New York 16 PUBLICATIONS 28 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects: Morton Subotnick and the late 1960s Downtown Scene View project An International perspective on electroacoustic music history View project All content following this page was uploaded by Robert J. Gluck on 20 September 2014. The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. Fifty years of electronic music in Israel ROBERT J. GLUCK University at Albany, PAC 312, 1400 Washington Avenue, Albany, New York 12208, USA E-mail: [email protected] The history of electronic music composition, technologies and founding figure of electronic music in Israel. Born in institutions is traced from the founding of the State of Israel present-day Poland, Tal studied during his teen years in 1948. Core developments are followed beginning with at the Staatliche Akademische Hochschule fur Music the founding generation including Joseph Tal, Tzvi Avni and in Berlin. Among his teachers was Paul Hindemith Yizhak Sadai, continuing with the second and third who, he recalls, ‘pointed me in the direction of elec- generations of musicians and researchers, living in Israel and the United States. The institutional and political dynamics of tronic music’ (Tal 2003), specifically to the studio of the field in this country are explored, with a focus on the engineer Friedrich Trautwein, best known as inventor challenges of building an audience and institutional support, of the Trautonium, a synthesizer prototype created in as well as prospects for the future.
    [Show full text]